Twitter Acquires Developer of 'Cover' Android Lock Screen

Perhaps you're aware of the Cover lock screen app for Android. It's an alternative to the stock interface on your device that uses location and app usage history to intelligently place shortcuts on the lock screen. There is a lot of potential there, and apparently Twitter agrees--the company has just acquired Cover for an undisclosed sum.

Perhaps you're aware of the Cover lock screen app for Android. It's an alternative to the stock interface on your device that uses location and app usage history to intelligently place shortcuts on the lock screen. There is a lot of potential there, and apparently Twitter agrees—the company has just acquired Cover for an undisclosed sum.

Cover has only been available in open beta since December 2013, but it's already proven itself to be one of the better Android lock screen replacements. Interestingly, Google has never built a secure framework for apps to plug into as a true lock screen replacement as it has for functions like notifications or the home screen. As such, most alternative lock screens are laggy and easily bypassed by an accidental press.

Cover manages to avoid most of those pitfalls, but it's the contextual awareness that probably attracted Twitter. Cover uses a variety of time and location-aware modes that bring custom settings, apps, and themes. For example, Cover knows when you're at home and lists your most used home apps on the lockscreen. It's the same for work and in the evening. At the same time, it can change settings like ringtone volume. Dragging one of the app icons to the side unlocks to that app, but you can also drag just a little bit, see the app under the lock screen, then drag it back to keep the device locked. Cover calls this Peek, and it's pretty cool.

The Cover app will remain in the Play Store, at least for the time being. However, it sounds like the app isn't going to be getting much attention from the developers as they go to work at Twitter on a variety of projects. It's possible some of Cover's DNA could make it into the official Android Twitter client. Cover did a great job of taking advantage of Android's unique capabilities, but it seems like Twitter's app neglects most of that—widgets, glanceable information, and so on. The Cover team promises an update if the situation with the app changes.

About the Author

Ryan Whitwam is a freelance tech/science writer and fan of all things electronic. This long-time skeptic and former research scientist is a lover of the em dash and a defender of the Oxford comma. He also writes for Geek.com and ExtremeTech.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RyanWhitwam
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